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Sleaze: immoral, sordid, and corrupt behavior or material.
No band epitomizes Hollywood sleaze more than Faster Pussycat. Countless bands
have adopted their look and demeanor in order to try and ride the Hollywood
wave to success. Most fail. For those bands it’s a costume…an act. For Faster
Pussycat it’s a way of life. They said it best in their own song “Sex, drugs & Rockn-Roll” off their 2006 album “The Power and the Glory Hole”. However don’t be
mistaken, they are much more than an image. First and foremost they are a rock
n roll band that has put out consistently great records and given it all on stage,
where it counts the most.
Singer Taime Downe formed the band in 1985, taking its name from the cult
classic Russ Meyer film Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! In 1987 they released their selftitled debut album which went gold. The album was loaded with sexual
innuendo and bravado and struck a nerve in the glam rock community, though
they were always a little more down and dirty than glam. During that time they
were interviewed and played two songs (Cathouse and Bathroom Wall) in the
documentary film “The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.
The documentary captured the general vibe of the Sunset Strip bands during that
time period, with Faster Pussycat being featured front and center.
In 1989 they released the album “Wake me when it’s over”, which spawned the
massive top 25 hit single “House of Pain” propelling them beyond the sunset strip
to worldwide acclaim. They received substantial airtime on MTV for the video
and toured with some of the biggest bands in history: Guns n Roses, Motorhead,
Motley Crue, Kiss, Alice Cooper and many more. They were able to reach fans all
across the world and the sunset strip seemed endless as fans clamored for a taste
of the famed Faster Pussycat sleaze. The album went gold and to this day many
hail “House of Pain” as one of the greatest power ballads of all time. The band’s
line-up during this time was Taime Downe (vocals), Greg Steele (guitar), Brent
Muscat (guitar), Kelly Nickels (bass) and Mark Michaels (drums).

Although Bang Tango was often lumped in with the whole 80's glam metal movement
(perhaps due to their pretty-boy looks and the fact that they hailed from Los Angeles),
the hard-rockin' quintet was one a few L.A. glam groups to incorporate funk into its
sound - around the same time as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More made it
acceptable to do so. Their line up consisted of Joe Leste' (Vocals), Kyle Stevens (Guitar),
Mark Knight (Guitar), Kyle Kyle (Bass), and Tigg Ketler (Drums), and piqued the interest
of Mechanic/MCA shortly after the quintet issued their first in-concert recordings, 1987's
"Live Injection".

Their major-label debut, Psycho Cafe, was issued in 1989. MTV's Headbangers Ball gave
significant air time to their single "Someone Like You", and eventually it became a
mainstay on the dial MTV charts. The group continued to issue albums throughout the
early 1990's including "Dancin' On Coals", "Ain't No Jive...Live!" and the critically
acclaimed "Love After Death".

In 2000, Leste' formed a more modern-sounding alt-metal outfit, Beautiful Creatures,
issuing a self-titled debut the same year on Warner Brothers. Beautiful Creatures toured
as part of the 2001 Ozzfest as well as supporting KISS on a number of dates.

Bang Tango has since produced three studio albums this decade. "Ready To Go" (2004),
"From The Hip" (2006), and the latest release “Pistol Whipped in the Bible Belt” (2011).
2014 brings the band’s 25th anniversary with the addition of former DIO guitarist Rowan
Robertson. In 1989 Rowan was recruited by Ronnie James Dio to join the band DIO when
he was only 17 years old. The experience launched the young guitarist from obscurity to
international fame nearly overnight.
“Robertson has brought a renewed sense of excitement and focus to the group” says
lead singer Joe Leste'. Bang Tango is currently writing with Rowan for a 2015 release.
Bang Tango’s line-up is…
Joe Leste' (Vocals), Rowan Robertson (Guitar), Lance Eric (Bass) and Timmy Russell (Drums)